Difference between OCPJP7 and OCPJP8 Certification

Those who want to be Java certified professionals, the Java certification is necessary for them in order to be master of the language and to compete with others, who already have done a lot in the Java technology. Though one apply for the Java certification, so that he can become his career in Java, but through this certification one can be easily recognized in the IT industry and he or she can also prove the ability of programming. After Oracle acquisition over Sun Micro-system, the earlier Java certification exam SCJP has become now OCPJP and it consist of two exams, OCAJP and OCPJP.

Now as today the technology changes are taking place rapidly and so as for Java as well. It has been just one year, when Java8 was launched, and now people are discussing about its upcoming version, which will be Java9 and similarly there are many versions of this OCPJP exam, which are OCPJP 6, 7 and now Version 8. Sometimes it become difficult to decide that which certification exam will be good for having a promising and long lasting career in this technology. As Java is the technology, which is there in the market from a long time and is still popular and can provide a long lasting career to anyone.

If we talk about the version of the exam, for which one should go then for any certification exam, the good is to take the latest version which is version 8 in case of Java certification. Many of the exam aspirants remain confused about this question, and even some are still attempting Oracle 6 exam. There are certain points, which you should consider before buying the voucher for your Java certification exam, read the complete article to know the facts.

Popular Facts of Java Certification
One fact of the Java certification exam, which must be clear to the aspirant is that from Java 7 onward, the exam of Java has been divided in two parts one is Associate level and other is called Professional level. If you want to be Java 7 certified professional, then you will have to clear both the exams, which are OCAJP 7 and OCPJP 7, moreover if you are already Java certified and hold any earlier version Java certification, then you can give the upgrade exam version for Java SE7 or 8. Still some aspirants do not want to give two exams of Java, and are giving only single exam of OCPJP 6, which is similar to SCJP 6 and this certification, does not require any pre assessment or prior certification.

But it is always recommended that one should try to attempt the latest version of any certification exam and so as for Java. The latest version of Java certification is Java 8 or OCPJP 8. In order to become Java 8 certified professional, one will have to qualify firstly OCAJP 8 i.e. associate level exam version of this certification with exam code 1Z0-808 and then OCPJP 8 i.e professional level exam version of Java certification with exam code 1Z0-809.

The reason behind recommendation to attempt the latest OCPJP8 and OCAJP 8 is that, these exams cover a number of the newly introduced concepts in Java8 and by passing this exam, you will surely become able to stand apart from those, who have earlier version certifications. In Java 8 several new features have been introduced by the Oracle, which makes the language suitable and competitive as per today’s technical requirement of the market. Moreover either today or tomorrow, one will have to learn the new concepts, then why not today? Even you can show your expertise and knowledge about these newly introduced concepts, when will go for any job interview.

For those who have already qualified any previous version of this certification exam, can attempt upgrade exam of Oracle and in this way they can update their knowledge and certification both. As the latest version of Java is Java 8 and in coming days, everyone will look for the latest version experts, so it will be better for such candidates that they clear the 1Z0-810 exam of Java and become Java 8 certified professional just through a single exam.

Many developers even after the release of Java 8 exam, are still going for OCPJP 6 exam, so that they can have a Java certification, when they will go for any job interview. However OCPJP 6 is quite difficult as compared to OCAJP7 or 8 versions. Fresher or beginners must not do this mistake and should prepare for OCPJP8 exam, for their career. In this way they would become able to make promising and long lasting career in their dream technology along with a certification. Java certification exams are the key to success in any job interview or to get the complete knowledge of the programming language.

Difference Between OCPJP 7 and OCPJP 8 Exams
Now so far we have discussed about entire available versions of Java certification, but as I said earlier that after the Oracle acquisition over Sun Microsystems the exam is known as OCAJP and OCPJP Java certification exam. Oracle has released two versions of this exam one is OCPJP 7 and other is OCPJP 8 and a number of candidates become confused that which exam version will be suitable for them and what is the difference between both as both are of Oracle.

The clear answer of this question is that OCPJP 8 is the latest version of this exam and if we talk about the difference then there is not a huge difference in both the exams. The preparation time of both the exams is almost same, a few topics have been introduced in OCPJP 8 and it may require a few hours extra preparation forOCPJP 8 exam preparation, rather than OCPJP 7 exam. As Java 8 is the latest version of Java technology and a few concepts have been also introduced, so in OCPJP 8 exam these newly introduced concepts are also there in the exam syllabus.

Overall Difference between Both the Exams:
There are following main differences between OCPJP7 and OCPJP 8 exams and OCAJP7 and OCAJP8 exams, although these differences are not very big, but I am listing them here so that one can know these differences and prepare for the exam accordingly:

If we will talk about the OCPJP7 and OCPJP 8 Exams, then there are lots of differences between both the exams. In OCPJP 8 version a few of the topics have been removed, and some newly introduced concepts of Java8 has been added as exam syllabus. The list of topics, which have been introduced in OCPJP8 exam, is:

Create and use Lambda expressions

Collections Streams and Filters

Iterate using for Each methods of Streams and List

Describe Stream interface and Stream pipeline

Filter a collection by using lambda expressions

Use method references with Streams

Use the built-in interfaces included in the java.util.function package such as Predicate, Consumer, Function, and Supplier

Develop code that uses primitive versions of functional interfaces

Develop code that uses binary versions of functional interfaces

Develop code that uses the UnaryOperator interface

Develop code to extract data from an object using peek() and map() methods including primitive versions of the map() method

Search for data by using search methods of the Stream classes including findFirst, findAny, anyMatch, allMatch, noneMatch

Develop code that uses the Optional class

Develop code that uses Stream data methods and calculation methods

Sort a collection using Stream API

Save results to a collection using the collect method and group/partition data using the Collectors class

Use of merge() and flatMap() methods of the Stream API

Create and manage date-based and time-based events including a combination of date and time into a single object using LocalDate, LocalTime, LocalDateTime, Instant, Period, and Duration

Work with dates and times across timezones and manage changes resulting from daylight savings including Format date and times values

Define and create and manage date-based and time-based events using Instant, Period, Duration, and TemporalUnit

Above listed topics were not there in the OCPJP 7 exam and some topics have been removed from OCPJP 7 exam syllabus, while introducing these topics. The syllabus of OCPJP 7 can be checked from the Oracle website itself.